A multi-function peripheral (also sometimes referred to as a multi-function product or MFP) is a peripheral equipment of a personal computer (PC) that has multiple functions in one unit. A user of the PC can utilize the MFP to scan, copy or print documents. The PC user normally accesses the MFP in one of two ways: a) physically placing a document on an imaging area of the MFP and requesting a particular function by activating an appropriate button on the MFP's control panel (e.g., “Print”, “Copy”, or “Scan”), or b) by sending image data to the MFP over a network connection, including commanding the MFP to carry out a particular function with the image data received over the network. However, in conventional MFPs, such data received over the network cannot be image processed in an expeditious manner, but rather is handled by various MFP components acting simply as a “pass through” for the electronic document data while it passes to or from the MFP image processing component.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the major elements of a conventional MFP 100. The MFP 100 includes a scanner 110, an image processing unit or processor 120, an image recording unit or recorder 130, an interface unit 140, a first memory 150, a system control unit or controller 160, and a second memory 170.
The scanner 110 scans images and outputs digital image data. The scanner 110 typically has an image sensor to read documents placed on an imaging area, and it may also have an automatic paper feed mechanism to feed multiple pages of a document in a continuous manner. Commercially-available scanners can have other conventional functions, as understood in the art.
The image processing unit 120 receives the digital image data output by the scanner 110 or data received from the interface unit 140, converts the image data to electrical data, which is provided to the image recording unit 130 such as to print the document. Alternatively, the scan data output by the scanner 110 may be stored in the first memory 150, after having passed through the image processing unit 120 and the interface unit 140.
The image processing unit 120 includes image processing components that compensate the data to obtain optimum images, and thereby the image processing unit 120 is capable of performing image processing on the data that it receives. As an example only, such image processing components may perform binarization, filtering, matrix conversion, gamma correction, compression, decompression, half-toning, and/or under-color removal (UCR) on the received data. The image processing unit 120 provides image-processed data to the image recording unit 130, and/or to the interface unit 140.
The image recording unit 130 prints the image-processed data received from the image processing unit 120. As an example only, the image recording unit 130 may correspond to an ink-jet printer or a laser printer.
For the conventional MFP 100, the scanner 110, the image processing unit 120 and the image recording unit 130 are principally used for copying. These components are typically synchronized to each other to allow the scanning, image processing and copying processes to be carried out at a very high data rate.
The interface unit 140 assists in data and control signal transfer among the various components of the MFP 100. In particular, for example, the interface unit 140 provides for data transfer between the system control unit 160, the first memory 150, and the image processing unit 120. The interface unit 140 may be a bus or a North bridge, for example.
Typically, the first memory 150 is a page memory and is implemented as a random access memory (RAM). The first memory 150 stores data, in units of a page, to be transferred to the image processing unit 120, or it stores data that is received from the image processing unit 120. The first memory 150 is typically implemented as a volatile memory (e.g., synchronous dynamic RAM).
The system control unit 160 controls various components of the MFP 100. FIG. 2 shows one possible implementation of the system control unit 160. The system control unit 160 includes a network interface 210, a central processing unit (CPU) 220, a local interface unit 230 (which may be implemented, for example, as a bus or a North bridge), a PCI bus 245 (for data transfer to/from the second memory 170), and a memory 240. Memory 240 is indicated as an optional component shown by dashed lines in FIG. 2. The network interface 210 provides the interface for data received from or to be sent over a network 190 (see FIG. 1), and it may include, for example, an IEEE 1284 (parallel interface), a local area network (LAN) interface and/or a high-speed serial interface.
The second memory 170 is communicatively coupled to the system control unit 160 by way of a bus, such as the PCI bus 245 as shown in FIG. 2. The second memory 170 is typically implemented as a hard disk drive (HDD), and is used to store image data that has been scanned by the MFP 100, for example, and whereby that scanned data can be later retrieved from the second memory 170 to be sent to the image recording unit 130 (for printing) or to a PC (over the network 190). The second memory 170 is typically implemented as a non-volatile memory.
Three processes that the conventional MFP 100 normally performs are “Copy,” “Scan,” and “Print.” First, as to the “Copy” process, it proceeds as follows: Scanner 110→Image Processing Unit 120→Interface Unit 140→First Memory 150→Interface Unit 140→System Control Unit 160→Second Memory 170→System Control Unit 160→Interface Unit 140→First Memory 150→Interface Unit 140→Image Processing Unit 120→Image Recording Unit 130.
In more detail, in a “Copy” operation, the scanner 110 scans a document, and the output of the scanner 110 is provided to the image processing unit 120, which performs a desired image processing (e.g., filtering, color conversion, gamma correction, compression) on the scan output. The image processed output is provided to the interface unit 140, for transfer to the first memory 150, and is stored in units of a page. The image data stored in the first memory 150 is transferred back to the interface unit 140, then to the image processing unit 120, and then to the image recording unit 130 for printing.
The second process performed by the MFP 100 is the “Scan” process, which proceeds as follows: Scanner 110→Image Processing Unit 120→Interface Unit 140→First Memory 150→Interface Unit 140→System Control Unit 160→Second Memory 170. This corresponds to a first part of the “Copy” process described above.
The third process normally performed by the MFP 100 is the “Print” process. The “Print” process proceeds as follows: Second Memory 170→System Control Unit 160→Interface Unit 140 →First Memory 150→Interface Unit 140→Image Processing Unit 120 →Image Recording Unit 130. This corresponds to a second part of the “Copy” process described above.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 10-269044 describes an MFP that has network accessible functions. However, like the MFP 100 shown in FIG. 1, the MFP described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 10-269044 cannot process image data received over the network and send it back over a network in a simple and direct manner, without passing the data through several MFP components that do not manipulate the image data in any way. This wastes valuable resources of the MFP, and is inefficient.
Thus, it is desirable to provide another process for an MFP that allows it to efficiently and effectively process image data received over a network, and to send the processed image data back over to the network to a requesting device (i.e., PC), whereby the process path of the MFP reduces or eliminates passing through components of the MFP that do not manipulate the image data in any meaningful way.